Love (but make it revolutionary, please)
And some climate justice opportunities.
This month I’m writing about love.
Feels odd, given that we’re experiencing a mass disenchantment with the political and economic status quo. Not that we didn’t already know that eight billionaire men ruling everything was unlikely to end well.
But the carefully-constructed veil between the 0.1% and the rest of the world, that attempts to pretend that this grossly unequal and patriarchal system is working, is shattering. The dark underbelly of the rich elite is revealed in the form of civilian executions, requests to join child sex rings, and total rejection of international diplomacy. As Emilia Roig put it, it’s the end of an illusion.
It feels like a difficult time to talk about love. Feels simple, naive even, to talk about it like a Disney cure to unspeakable evil, a necessary treatment for this grief and outrage.
But rather than yet another commentary on what is happening in the US, I’ve found myself typing away ever-growing drafts about the ways we relate to each other. How centering love and care - and examining how we love - is not less important or a juvenile topic, but the foundation of finding different ways to live.
Last week I wrote about decentering romance and loving your friends to a strong positive reception (reply to this email for unpaywalled access). Our speed dating for activists event booked out in around a week. Our desire to connect, and to love, is untarnished and perhaps even strengthened in the face of rising authoritarian power.
Before the patriarchy, colonialism and hyper-capitalist economies hijacked our democracy, they hijacked our minds. They make us see each other as competitors, commercialise romance, enforce and mandate sexualities and relationship styles that fit into the status quo, shame women’s desires, and seed fear of change.
Now we are learning that we can’t fight this without communities, and without rethinking the ways we connect to each other. Friendships, romance, community and love are not political, but they are politicised. Every new way to live and love - from queer relationships to polyamory to the 4B movement rejecting marriage - has been stigmatised, mocked and faced significant backlash - but why? Who gains from this backlash?
It’s surely not us. It’s surely that power is terrified of our ability to love and care, and that is exactly why we must strip away the taboos and the myths and talk about it.
I’ll be addressing these topics in A Rough Idea, the paywalled version of the newsletter. You can upgrade your subscription here and choose to make a gift subscription if you like. We will offer a free subscription to students, trainees and low-income readers. Just reply to this email with ‘Gift subscription’.
What’s Going On?
Lessons from Minnesota: To preserve our planet, we must preserve our democracy.
‘It’s not the 90s any more’: the all-women team reinventing abortion advice for the TikTok age.
Washington Post, run by Bezos, guts its climate reporting team.
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3 cool things we want to share
Share your own updates and recent wins (reports, campaign launches, protests) in the comments!
Join the 100,000 people calling for the EU to keep their #HandsOffNature
Right now, powerful polluting industries - backed by political allies - are pushing to weaken Europe’s environmental laws, trading our health, clean water, food, air and nature for profit.
A weaker EU water law would mean dirtier drinking water, weaker protection for nature, and more pollution linked to cancer and respiratory diseases. This is not hypothetical: similar rollbacks have already happened to our forests and wild animals, and more laws protecting nature reserves and wildlife are now on the table.
The #HandsOffNature campaign, launched by the EEB, ClientEarth, WWF and BirdLife, has gathered over 100,000 signatures in the first week since its launch.
You can sign here, and download their communications pack here.
Romantically available activists are in high demand - so we organised an event for you
After launching our speed dating event in the last edition, our event booked out in record time! There may not be many fish in the sea but there are plenty of romantically available activists in Brussels ;)
You can still join our waiting list in case spots open up, and to hear about future events (this is looking like something we’ll do again!) - so you don’t miss out on opportunities to meet your next activist friend, situationship or even Reliable Stable Partner 💘
Belgian trade unions announce new set of strikes
📌12th March: National strike in Belgium
Whether you’re in Belgium or not, we can all take notes from how the Belgian trade unions are organising. Confronted with the prospect of the ‘Arizona’ government coalition that threatens to slash essential social welfare & workers’ rights, Belgian workers across sectors have organised huge national marches, NGO picket lines, and 3-day public sector strikes. We interviewed two of the people striking last year here.
If you’re working in an NGO based in Belgium - including international NGOs - you can get involved with the #FairCSOs campaign by joining the Whatsapp group.
(PS - if you’re in London, check out the Workers Against the Far Right Conference on the 21st February to take action locally!).
From our archives…
So Now What Do I Do?
LEARN SOMETHING
Apply for this three-day online course on ‘Climate and Political Influence in The Age of Information Crises’ by 20th February.
Sign up for an online training on sharing the domestic and mental load on the 24th February at 20 CET.
Apply for the New Economy Influencers’ Collective for training on making economic topics accessible and human. For UK creators, apply by 2nd March.
DO SOMETHING
London: Join the Fund Raver to raise money for UK political prisoners, organised by Fossil Free London on the 13th February.
The Ocean Leaders Fellowship is open for applications from young professionals 18-35 until the 15th February.
#DiasporaVote are looking for volunteer mentors to guide marginalised youth on working with their MEPs. Deadline to apply is 16th February.
Stay in the loop
You can follow us on Instagram, Bluesky and LinkedIn. Connect with Cass on Instagram and LinkedIn.